Optimum 20-bit Hi-D transfers from
the original first generation 1972 1/2" and 1/4" master
tapes. Includes two newly discovered tracks that had to be
omitted from the original release since did not fit on the
LP album.

Shortly after the success of her
Switched-On Bach album, Wendy Carlos and her long-time
producer Rachel Elkind began working with a spectrum follower--a
device that converts sounds, such as speech, into electronic
signals
that mirror the overtones and rhythms of the original. The idea:
To
create the first electronic "vocal" piece. The piece selected for
translation: the Choral Movement from Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony. After much preliminary work, Rachel felt that the
Beethoven selection needed some kind of an introduction, something
to
ease the listener into this new sound of a well-known piece. Wendy
began work on what was later to develop into an original,
self-sustaining composition entitled Timesteps.

Wendy was, by her own admission, "about three and a half minutes"
into Timesteps when a friend gave her a paperback copy of
A
Clockwork Orange. Like so many other readers, Wendy fell
under
the spell of Anthony Burgess' vision of a world of tomorrow filled
with ultra-violence. She was also struck by the fact that her
Timesteps music seemed to capture the exact feeling of the
opening scenes of Burgess' book. Further work, and Timesteps
evolved, subconsciously, into a kind of musical poem based on
Clockwork -- a work that, as Wendy says, was an "autonomous
composition with an uncanny affinity for Clockwork."

Then, the same friend who had given her Clockwork sent a
clipping from a London newspaper announcing that Stanley Kubrick
had
just begun production of a film based on Burgess' book. Wendy and
Rachel, both admirers of Kubrick's previous work, began to share
the
same day-dream: "Wouldn't it be great if..." Then came an
announcement in the New York Times that Kubrick had
actually
finished filming. Timesteps was also finished, so Rachel
sprang into action. Through a friend, literary agent Lucy Kroll,
she
contacted Kubrick's United States representative.

Timesteps and Beethoven's Choral Movement were airmailed
to
Kubrick. Wendy and Rachel waited. Finally, came a request from
Kubrick: Could they come to London and discuss the use of Wendy's
music in the film?

They came. They saw. And not only did they agree to Kubrick's use
of the Beethoven Movement and Timesteps for the movie, but
also Wendy began to arrange / perform some of the music already
contracted for by Kubrick, and they even set down original ideas
for
other background music.

In this album, Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind have brought
together all the music that Wendy suggested, arranged and / or
composed for this remarkable film. In addition to the selections
from
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (including Wendy's scintillant
version of the Scherzo), and Timesteps, here is The
Thieving
Magpie ("As we would have done it, had there been time")
and a startling piece of original music, Country Lane.
This
latter piece, which depicts Alex's near drowning at the hands of
his
ex-Droogs, utilizes motifs from The Thieving Magpie plus the
medieval
religious theme of Dies Irae (Day of 'Wrath), which is
also
heard in the title music, plus authentic rain storm sounds (as in
Wendy's Sonic Seasonings album)
plus
a suggestion of Singin' in the Rain. (In its few minutes,
this
Country Lane manages to sum up the mood of the entire
film.)

Here, then, is the music that you heard--and did not hear--in
Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Here is the only
recording actually supervised by both persons responsible for this
remarkable film score. Here is the only complete collection of
Wendy
Carlos's music for A Clockwork Orange.

Although Warner Brothers released their
filmscore album shortly after the release of Kubrick's Clockwork
Orange, Rachel Elkind and I were
never
completely satisfied with it. The tapes used for the transfers
were
those made for the film track, and were a couple of generations
removed from the original master mixes. So these versions
contained
compromises, like a necessary added compression and EQ, to sound
good
on a mono Academy optical print (at least we pioneered the use of
Dolby, used for the first time ever in a film!)

Clockwork included only a portion of my Timesteps, so the
album contained the excerpt, too. The Scherzo from Beethoven's
Ninth
Symphony had been shortened and processed for the film's suicide
attempt scene, which eliminated a good portion of our not quite
complete realization of that movement. A few of our cues for the
film
were left out at the last minute. As these were among the best
things
we'd done for the project, that was frustrating. These materials
might have been included on the Warner Brothers album, but because
of
several other music cues that had been used in the film, there
wasn't
the space on that LP for them.

Fortunately, we were able to release our own full score album
three months after the "official" version was put out. We worked
on
assembling our music the best we could to give a fair account of
all
we'd done for Kubrick. We included all of Timesteps, and I
worked to do a spirited synth version of Rossini's La Gazza
Ladra.

Since we ran out of space for our original CBS LP, we could not
include several cues but agreed that this was the best compromise
at
the time. Otherwise our CBS release contained most of the music
we'd
done on the project, and had a reasonable sound quality by the
standards of those days. With this new remastered deluxe edition
the
missing tracks have been included. At the same time were never
fond
of the cover that CBS came up with, even though it was clever and
well executed.

The day has finally come to return to the masters, and assemble
this first CD release of all our music, and even to design a new
cover. This one contains some gentle hints of the cover for Tales
of Heaven & Hell, since that new album's roots can
be
partially found in this film's music. The cover art I drew for
Tales is a visual pun on CO's poster art. This
filmscore CD's cover combines a nod to that original poster art,
plus
another to the TH&H take-off. Something nicely
recursive
about all of that...

I'm particularly thrilled to get the complete Timesteps
out
via this maximum quality digital transfer. And the rest of the
score
is, I think, among some of the best work I did with Rachel in the
early 70's. It deserves at least the chance to be heard again, and
heard as optimally as possible. I'm grateful to ESD for observing
this, and now doing something about it. And as suggested above, we
are also including two bonus tracks: Biblical Daydreams
and
Orange Minuet, which have never been available before!

I'm often amazed how much music we were able to squeeze out of
such meager, recalcitrant tools back then. I'd never wish to go
back
to those frustrating limitations. Often decent art can arise
despite
gross constraints. I'd like to think this is such an example.
Since
any music's value ultimately rises and falls on the composition
and
the performance, I don't think the hurdles the equipment imposed
on
us ought be considered very much, if at all, when you listen to
this
CD.

Nevertheless, we truly have "come a long way, baby!" You can't
help but notice it by now. Here's to the next generation of
electronic and computer media art which can be built on a much
firmer
foundation than existed back in 1971. Here's to the future of our
still young medium!

About
The Studio

Here is a view of
the Upper West Side (Manhattan) brownstone
studio (full size | medium
size as it looked "in its heyday" in the mid '70's. The main
studio, with console in the center (here we see its back only),
tape
machines behind it, and a small organ in front, sat lower than the
ground floor. Rachel Elkind and I had
dropped the rear half by several feet (into the basement space),
to
achieve a decent ceiling height for better audio monitoring
purposes.
This view is from the top of the stairs, where the room that
contained the piano and mikes and live musicians was at the
original
floor height.

The stairs just below and in front of us in the photo were gently
curved and carpeted. It was a nice, homey touch that Rachel though
up. The room was quite narrow, as the foundation of the basement
had
thicker walls than the upper floors. So the sound absorbing walls
were splayed, wider at the top, narrower below. I think the width
below was somewhere between eleven and twelve feet -- the only
real
compromise we had to make.

Clockwork Orange was the second big project recorded in
the
studio (Sonic Seasonings, the
other
rerelease of this first ESD grouping, was the first). All of the
music was done in this narrow space. We would use the upper room
for
recording live performances and elements, to keep the monitors
from
feeding back into the microphones. But a few times we just turned
the
amps down and put the mikes right there where we were working.

The final masters were recorded onto the Ampex 8-track, since we
had planned on a stereo release, which Kubrick later decided
against,
and still oddly avoids. This recorder, which I built from used
parts
to record the first S-OB master, sits to the right of the
big
picture window we installed, to keep the space non-claustrophobic,
and to provide a glimpse of nature while working. Since this was
in
the days before SMPTE was popular, we used a 60 Hz tone, put on
one
track of the eight, so Kubrick's engineers could maintain
synchronization, once the start "beep" had been located properly.
It
worked pretty well for a simple system. (That 60 Hz, by the way,
was
gotten most expediently: a couple of alligator clips on the VU
meter
lights, to a patch cord, and right into the Ampex...!)

The 16-track 3-M tape recorder (to the right) captured most of
the
master tracks and elements, again with a 60 Hz sync track. My
original Moog synth beside the 3-M provided most of the
instrumental
lines, one note at a time. We borrowed a 35 mm mono audio dubber
from
our friend, the composer Eric Siday, to playback the dialog track
in
sync, and help us locate each sync point. Wherever there was a
"cue
to hit", we glued a teeny snip of loud sine tone on 1/4" tape onto
that spot on the film's audio mag track, so the audio output
provided
a "blip" at these spots. We bought a used small Movieola to watch
the
scenes we were about to score. These latter two devices were not
in
the room when I took this slide, a few years later.

Nowadays the whole job could be done in a much smaller space, and
with much greater convenience and speed. But somehow, it will be
harder to duplicate the charm and atmosphere of this novel old
studio. I still remember how many out of town visitors who saw it
told us it was the "highlight of their whole NYC sightseeing
trip!"
But of course, back then, even the idea of a home or "project
studio"
was one whose time was yet to come...

Exclusive
-- available at last, for the first time since the Hanson
edition
of music from A Clockwork Orange became out-of-print, we
present pages from the actual score used in composing
TimeSteps!
We've
scanned the four-on-one-sheet printed pages at high res, and
then
carefully cleaned and edited the images for clarity, and
converted
them into JPEGs, for you to see here, or save for later to
study.
(They are much too large to see all at once on your monitor at
1:1
scale. Use the scroll bars as needed.)

Click HERE - pp. 1-4 to view the first four pages of Part One,
the General Placement overview score.

Note: I've uploaded these
files again recently, as some of you have have reported
problems downloading the Stuffed versions. They now seem to
be just fine, and dowrload and open up normally on several
machines here. But there are all sorts of Network problems,
or your own computer's software configurations and available
RAM, that can lead to corruption of moderately large files
like these, loss of the EOF code and such. You'll have to
try again if you experience trouble, or get a friend who's
connection works out fine to grab it for you. Sorry that we
must still experience the symptoms of a rather newish
technology, folks!

If you can read music, you'll recognize the
themes and layers and vocal parts (done with vocoder)
as they are heard in the newly remastered Hi-D ESD album. But
even if
you can't, the fascinating visual, graphic layout, in Wendy's
own
handwriting, is worth studying, especially while listening to
the CD.
While subtle, it's not as complex as it may first appear, and
you may
enjoy discovering other ways of composing for the synthesizer
studio.
TimeSteps has received a lot of attention for years,
since
Kubrick chose it for scenes in his 1971 film, as an important
example
of early Electronic Music.

(If there is enough
interest, we'll add to these pages, until the complete score is
available here. Each file is about 400k in size, at 200 dpi, and
is the actual size of the printed pages in the original
Clockwork Orange filmscore book, Hanson Publications D 151.)

This is the first-ever CD release of Wendy
Carlos's memorable score to Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork Orange.
Along
with Carlos's classical realization of the Ode to Joy from
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, this was the recording which first
introduced the world to Wendy's original compositions, including
Timesteps, still considered one of the landmarks of electronic
music.

For this release Wendy has restored and
digitally remastered the original recordings, and added two
pieces
Orange Minuet and Biblical Daydreams which did not fit on the
original 1972 CBS LP. This is one of the most sought-after
recordings
by both Wendy Carlos fans and film score enthusiasts.

February 1999 issue of StereophileStereophile's "Records to Die For,
1999"

Within
days of buying my first DAT machine in 1989, I transferred Wendy
Carlos' "Clockwork Orange" score from the pristine second LP
copy I'd
kept locked away since the seventies.Worlds away from the official Warner
Brothers score, this 1972 release - just reissued on CD for the
first
time in extraordinarily detailed 20-bit remastered form -
featured
the "Switched On Bach" synthesizer pioneer at the peak of her
artistry, realizing both featured classical standards (the
second and
fourth movement's of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9; Rossini's "La
Gazza
Ladra" overture and Purcell's "Music for the Funeral of Queen
Mary)
and some of the most tightly conceived and powerful originals of
the
day.Snippets of the music found its way
into
the film, but only a fraction. The reissue also includes two
substantial works that didn't fit on the LP - the Strawbs-like
"Orange Minuet" and music to accompany Alex's fantasies of
Christ's
persecution - "Biblical Daydreams."The focal point of the CD however is
Carlos' 13:50 "Timesteps" - an organic, transfiguring electronic
mini
drama that captures both the book and film's insistent rhythms,
menacing power and dark, schizophrenic undertow.

--Daniel Buckley

Reviews
- January 1999, <http://www.babysue.com>Wendy Carlos's Clockwork
Orange:
Complete Original Score(CD, East Side Digital, Classical/electronic),
Sonic Seasonings / Land
of
the Midnight Sun(Double CD, East Side
Digital,
Ambient/electronic),Tales of Heaven and Hell (CD, East Side Digital,
Electronic)

Wendy
Carlos is what you might call a true genius in the world of
twentieth
century music. She's always been ahead of her time...expanding
boundaries and challenging listeners and herself. Hats off to
East
Side Digital for seeing fit to re-release earlier Carlos
recordings
as well as her latest work. Wendy's first major claim to fame
was a
recording called Switched On Bach, which literally changed the
way
the world listened to classical music (it also ended up being
the
first platinum classical album EVER). The re-releases of
Clockwork
Orange and Sonic Seasonings were remastered by Wendy herself, so
you
KNOW they sound dynamite...and both releases include extra
tracks
that weren't included on the vinyl releases. You'd think that an
electronic recording from 1972 would sound dated and trite, but
this
is definitely not the case with the Clockwork soundtrack. It
sounded
futuristic and incredible then, and it sounds just as amazing
now.From the frightening "Timesteps"
right
on through "Country Lane," this represents state-of-the-art
technology in the early seventies. The music has held up well,
still
sounding better than most current electronic discs released of
late. Sonic Seasonings was Wendy's
foray
into ambient music (although at that time I doubt such a label
existed). The music on Seasonings consists of four lengthy
pieces
divided up into "Spring," "Summer," "Winter," and "Fall." The
music
captures the essence of the seasons, with subtle electronics
rounding
out the sound. The real treat on this double CD, however, is the
last
track entitled "Midnight Sun." Unreleased until now, this
hypnotic
piece represents Wendy at her best. Layers upon layers of thick
heady
tones that sound like you've died and gone to heaven. But if you
think that her past work overshadows her current endeavors,
spinning
Tales of Heaven and Hell will change your mind.Possibly the most intensely
orchestrated
work she has yet to produce, this disc leaves other electronic
musicians in a trail of dust (but then, Wendy always WAS ahead
of her
time...). The tunes on this disc sound like the soundtrack to my
worst (and best) nightmares. Ms. Carlos throws so much at the
listener that you can't help but feel overwhelmed...but in a
very
good way. Beautiful, frightening, surreal, psychedelic...there
aren't
enough adjectives to describe this music. Each tune is
meticulously
and painstakingly crafted. There's no telling how much time
Wendy
spent creating epics such as "Transitional," "Clockwork Black,"
or
"Memories." Suffice to say, the lady who is largely responsible
for
the entire world of electronic music is still light years ahead
of
the rest. Easily one of the best CDs I've ever heard in my life,
Tales is a rich and rewarding trip into unlimitless imagination.
Wendy Carlos is in a category all her own. MIND BOGGLING.(All three CDs get a rating
of...6 out of 6)

Wendy
Carlos' music from "A Clockwork Orange" has the best
effect
any film music can have: when you hear it, you remember exactly
when
in the film it was playing, and you can definitely remember
whether
or not you felt it all over again. I did with this disc.
Although I
haven't seen "A Clockwork Orange" in at least eight years, every
creepy feeling came back to me. The milk bar, the rape, the Gene
Kelly number, the prison, the torture... Jesus. I'm a happy guy.Wendy Carlos got the job and pretty
much
just recycled the concept of her best- selling Switched on
Bach album. Most of the music here is a Moog reading of
such
classic works as the "William Tell Overture" and "The Thieving
Magpie." It's a kick to hear all of these "futuristic" fugues,
but
the real prize here may be the opening "Timesteps." When it
originally appeared on the original "Clockwork Orange"
soundtrack
(this disc only compiles Carlos' tracks, thus Gene Kelly and
that
"Lighthouse Keeper" bullshit are Missing In Action), it
was a
slim four- minute piece. You may remember its hollow, lost- in-
space- with- a- big- ass- gong sounds. But you've never heard
the
full- on fourteen minute epic, a shifting headscratcher that
wanders
around like Yanni's left nut. And yeah, I mean that in a good
way.Aside from a cut cue, "Biblical
Daydreams," the rest of Carlos' stuff is here in its extended
glory,
tickling the ears and bringing back a whole lotta nightmares I
thought I'd gotten over. Its retro- futuristic glow is a bit
grating
at times, but for folks who like this patch of backwater-- and
I'm
calling out to you, Synergy fans-- this disc has... a
peel. (Groan now.)

Wendy
Carlos' dramatic score for the legendary "Clockwork Orange"
motion
picture is an interesting collection of solid, dark, electronic
proto-new age music, long out of print and finally reissued.
Part of
the record is Carlos' original electronic compositions, like
"Timesteps," a disconcerting musical poem written expressly to
capture the ultra-violence of "Orange," and "Orange Minuet" and
"Biblical Daydreams," which weren't included in the score's
original
release.Other tunes on the album are
electronically realized (and mindblowing, in historical context)
interpretations of classics from composers like Beethoven and
Rossini, and these follow-ups to "Switched-On Bach" are even
more
enjoyable than Carlos' originals. Although the score may not
have the
same impact that it had in 1972, this is a wonderfully-
remastered
and long-overdue reissue of a true classic, every bit as
visionary as
the movie it accompanies.

Best
electronic album in the world ever. What
can be said about this album that hasn't been said already? It
quite
simply contains some of the best electronic music ever composed;
the
most skilled manipulation of voltage controlled oscillators,
filters
and amplifiers ever to be used to change the pole orientation of
a
particle of magnetic tape oxide. Yes, I like this album lots.Timesteps is the highlight of this
album, IMO. It's dark, dank and spooky. It's complex interwoven
morphing soundscapes overlaid with eerie chanting "Hosanna" (or
at
least, that's what it says on Wendy's own handwritten score)
combined
with strange vocoder singing parts. It has withstood the test of
time
and in 1998 remains an outstanding and forward looking piece of
music. Every time I listen to it I hear something new in it.If you're reading out there and you
take
electronic music - or indeed, any music - seriously then you
*must*
check out this album. In exchange for your 15 bucks you get
taken on
a rollercoaster ride through an intricately connected series of
complex, intricate pieces of music. You've never had it so good.

You
know the movie. This is the soundtrack. Moody and surreal. The
hauntingly beautiful synth chants interwoven with classical
music
makes this one of the best movie scores ever done. Audio
ultra-moody
music for all of you little droogies can be found here. {Mite}

A featured Amazon.com CD review:

While
the original Warner Bros. film soundtrack mixed up Carlos's
electronic interpretations of classical greats with symphonic
renditions, this score is all electronic. Featuring music from
both
the original soundtrack and a lesser-known alternate soundtrack,
as
well as some unreleased Carlos originals meant for the film,
this
Clockwork will please her fans.Aside from famous classical
renditions
and reinterpretations like "A Theme from A Clockwork Orange
(Beethoviana)," there are pieces that were scored but never
used,
including "Country Lane" (originally meant for the scene in
which
Alex is nearly drowned by his ex-gang-mates) and "Biblical
Daydreams"
(for the scene in which Alex dreams up perverse theological
fantasies
in prison).On top of it all is "Timesteps," a
creepy 14-minute suite inspired by the composer's initial
exposure to
the Anthony Burgess novel and excerpted in the final film.
Carlos has
a distinctive way of reinterpreting classical works onto the
synthesizer, utilizing unusual tones and textures that give
these
renditions a unique stamp.

I've
been listening to Clockwork Orange quite often since
getting
it. "Orange Minuet" should have been a hit single! Sonic
Seasonings sounds great too. Tangerine Dream must have
been
listening to it at the time Carlos made it.

Yeah,
I'm A Carlos Fan The third of the trilogy of great Carlos CDs
("Tales of Heaven & Hell" and "Sonic Seasonings"),
this
one bridges the gap between her classical renditions and her
original compositions.Loving tributes to Beethoven, Rossini
and Purcell are interposed with stunning original compositions.
"Country Lane" and "Timesteps" are Carlos' masterpieces,
sparking
with originality and sardonic wit. Kubrick's film was
outstanding,
but one has to bemoan how much better it would have been had he
used
Carlos' original score all the way through instead of the
mishmash of
classical, popular and nostalgia he settled on. *What* was he
thinking???The only way you can hear the way it
should have been is to listen to this album.

I've
been a huge fan of both Carlos and Kubrick since the mid '70's.
I was
lucky enough to find a copy of Carlos's vinyl pressing of this
album
in '79. This CD blows it away, I've listened to it once a month
since
I bought it about a year ago. Timesteps is one of the best works
Carlos has ever done and it really shows you what potential
electronic music has or had. It's too bad Kubrick didn't use the
whole score, I think it would have made the movie even stronger.
The
mechanical/electronic works would have heightened the dystopic
feel
of the film. If you buy one soundtrack this should be
it.

Wendy
Carlos Clockwork Orange soundtrack is long overdue. I
have
waited years and years for this to be released on CD. This is
her
masterpiece. Timesteps is probably the best synthesizer piece of
all
time. Needless to say, I love this album. Don't think, just buy
it!